Getting to Know the Capital Projects Solutions

State and local governments are stewards of most of the country’s public infrastructure.  Across the United States, years of neglect have resulted in crumbling roads, bridges in need of repair, outdated public buildings, and other critical infrastructure needs. The  American Society of Civil Engineers 2017 Infrastructure Report Card  revealed that while government agencies have made incremental progress restoring our nation’s infrastructure, it has not been enough.

The cost of deteriorating infrastructure takes a toll on families' disposal household income and impacts the quality and quantity of jobs in the U.S. economy.

Source: Failure to Act Report

High-quality infrastructure is essential to a community's economic vitality and quality of life.  A good capital project planning process helps communities make smart infrastructure improvements and investments in their future.  Governments may have hundreds of projects in their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that range in cost from thousands to billions of dollars. Managing this Capital Improvement Plan comes with inherent challenges that can impact the schedule, quality, and cost of infrastructure improvements.

The  Participatory Budgeting ,  Capital Project Planning  and  Capital Project Tracking  solutions can be used by utilities and public works agencies to engage the community and solicit feedback regarding how public funds are spent, to define, track and coordinate all capital projects, and to share improvement plans and project status with the community. This story map describes the capabilities provided in each solution and how you can leverage these capabilities in your organization.

High-quality infrastructure is essential to a community's economic vitality and quality of life. A good capital project planning process helps communities make smart infrastructure improvements and investments in their future. Governments may have hundreds of projects in their capital improvement plan (CIP) that range in cost from thousands to billions of dollars. Managing this CIP comes with inherent challenges that can impact the schedule, quality, and cost of infrastructure improvements.  Capital Project Planning  is typically implemented by government agencies and utilities that want an efficient way to manage and share a capital improvement plan.

The  Capital Project Planning  solution delivers a set of capabilities that help you define capital projects plans, coordinate project schedules with internal and external agencies, manage pavement moratoriums, organize a project portfolio in to an official capital improvement plan, and share capital improvement plans with the general public and other key stakeholders.

The Capital Project Plans app can be used by project leads to organize new capital project plans and revise project information during the planning process. Select an asset type in the Capital Project Plans Gallery. Review current infrastructure plans and any capital or condition needs. Locate a new capital project plan and update project details. Catalog relevant drawings, documents, or photos that further inform the plan.

Capital projects can be defined for each public asset (water, sewer, stormwater, facility, park, and transportation) in a community. Once all relevant information has been added to the capital plan and it is ready for internal review, set the project status to 'Analysis and Review'. This will ensure the proposed project plan will be visible to members of the coordinating body in the Capital Project Review app.

Whenever possible, government agencies attempt to coordinate capital projects with privately-owned utilities and other public sector entities doing work in their community. Coordinated project planning protects the public interest, reduces cost, and mitigates liability. 

The External Agency Projects app can be used by private utilities and external agencies to share capital projects planned for their respective infrastructure. This information helps identify potential project conflicts and becomes the foundation for public-private partnership opportunities.

Select a project entered previously and refine the project details. Locate a new project and add relevant project details that would assist with the coordination of capital improvements in a community.

The External Agency Projects app provides privately-owned utilities and other public sector entities access to planned projects when they contribute their plans. Contributing entities can also revise project information, when necessary, to align with their evolving capital plans. 

To better manage the structural integrity of roadways and minimize pavement degradation, many communities implement pavement moratoriums. The moratoriums restrict the type of excavations made along a road and serve to strengthen the quality of repairs made if a pavement cut is required.

The Pavement Moratoriums app can be used by engineering and operations staff to inventory moratoriums that preclude, or restrict, right-of-way activity on newly paved streets. Select an existing moratorium and refine the restrictions on a current moratorium. Locate a new moratorium and add relevant restrictions that would govern the repair and replacement of pavement along the roadway.

Typically, a map of pavement moratoriums along with the policies used to govern street cuts is shared with public and private entities doing work in a community so they are aware of restrictions along certain roadways.

Most communities are balancing capital needs across several public assets (water, sewer, stormwater, facility, park, and transportation) and developing long-range capital improvement plans to address these needs. To coordinate these needs, they will ask agencies responsible for public assets to submit capital project plans to a coordinating body. The coordinating body will then examine each project and prepare a consolidated list of proposed projects that aligns with community goals and strategic priorities. This consolidated list of projects will then be reviewed by decision-makers and formulated into a capital improvement plan.

Analytics and data-driven decisions help executives prioritize improvements and maximize public investments.

The Capital Project Review Dashboard can be used by plan review staff to examine proposed projects prior to inclusion in an official capital improvement plan. Relevant metrics can be viewed at a glance or examined in more detail if time permits.

Project costs can be reviewed for all proposed projects. Select an asset type, fiscal year, or funding source, and review how many proposed projects have been submitted. Select a proposed project from the list and review project details along with the location of the proposed project.

The Capital Project Review app can then be used by plan review staff to organize a project portfolio into an official capital improvement plan.

Sort proposed projects by a variety of key characteristics. Select a proposed project and review project details along with the location of the proposed project. Update the project status and refine the fiscal year and funding source as appropriate.

Once decision-makers have completed their review of the consolidated list of projects, members of the coordinating body can mark the project status 'Board Authorized'. This will ensure the appropriate projects are included in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). When funds for a given project are allocated, the coordinating body can mark the funded project 'Yes' so project status can be tracked when construction begins.

A Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a short range plan that includes capital projects and equipment in need of renovation, repair, and/or construction. A CIP relates these projected capital needs to the financial resources necessary to support their completion and the time frame in which both the financing and work will take place. Using maps to share the capital plans improves communication with key stakeholders and enables effective decision-making.

The Capital Improvement Plan app can be used by the general public and other interested parties to review projects included in the Capital Improvement Plan. Select a capital project and review project details along with the location of the project.

The Capital Improvement Plan app reflects up-to-date information maintained in the Capital Project Planning apps.

 Participatory Budgeting  provides 24/7 access to an organization and the location-enabled project ideas drive community engagement and help efficiently triage ideas to the correct person or department responsible for project scoping. Input gathered in the public app often makes up for gaps in official knowledge and brings the people and their government closer together as a community. It also allows historically disenfranchised groups to participate, leading to new ideas in government.  Participatory Budgeting  is typically implemented by planning departments, public works agencies, and other local government agencies that wish to increase transparency and solicit feedback from the public and ultimately build a community in which everyone’s voice can be heard.

The  Participatory Budgeting  solution delivers a set of capabilities that help you solicit project ideas from the public, triage and monitor these ideas, and incorporate popular ideas in future capital improvement plans.

Participatory budgets are a powerful tool for inclusive and accountable governance.

The Participatory Budgeting Hub site can be used by the general public to learn how they can become involved in the participatory budgeting process.

The site provides 24/7 access to an organization, educating community members about how the participatory budgeting program works, and providing easy access to the Participatory Budgeting app they will use to submit their ideas.

The Participatory Budgeting app can be used by government agencies to solicit community feedback on how available public funds should be spent. This responsive web app complements a comprehensive Participatory Budgeting program adopted by government agencies to engage community members directly in budget decisions that affect their lives.

Review a map or list of existing ideas that have already been reported. Comment on, or "like", existing ideas. Anonymously submit a new project idea and provide details (for example, project category, contact information, location, photo) that will help government agencies quickly respond to the idea. Authenticate with user credentials and track the status of your project idea.

Participatory Budgeting is typically deployed by government agencies to enlist feedback from community members. Government agencies can use Participatory Budgeting Manager and Participatory Budgeting Dashboard to monitor, verify and assign project ideas to agencies responsible for vetting the project proposals. This feedback supports democratic deliberation and decision-making in which ordinary people decide how to allocate part of a government budget.

Managing a large project portfolio and quickly communicating progress is a challenge for government agencies and utilities. Many times, the lack of information leads to expensive project changes, budget overruns, frustrated executives and a disenfranchised public. Maintaining effective communication with internal and external stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of a capital project increases transparency and strengthens public trust. It also assures stakeholders that public dollars are being spent effectively and improvements are being made in a timely manner.  Capital Project Tracking  is typically implemented by government agencies and utilities that want to proactively share the status of active capital projects with the communities they serve.

The  Capital Project Tracking  solution delivers a set of capabilities that help you manage the status of active capital projects, track project performance, share project progress with internal stakeholders and communicate investments being made with the public.

Given their scale and cost, capital projects can represent a significant undertaking for local governments.

Source: Government Finance Officers Association

The Maximizing Capital Expenditures Hub site can be used by the general public to learn more about public investments being made and how they can participate in the capital project planning process. 

The site provides community members with up-to-date metrics on public investments and capital projects, which can be viewed in detail with the Capital Project Dashboard.  The site also provides easy public access to your organizations Capital Improvement Plans, Participatory Budgeting program, and your Citizen Problem Reporting program.

The Capital Project Reports app can be used by project leads to communicate the schedule, quality, and cost of active capital projects to executives in their community. Sort active projects by a variety of key characteristics. Select a project and review project details along with the location of the active project. Update key project characteristics (ex. project phase, actual start/end dates, project cost) and provide a detailed project status for interested stakeholders.

The Capital Project Reports app helps document progress made on each capital project and provides real-time information to internal and external stakeholders.

Monitoring construction activity and the financial health of capital projects helps government agencies generate clear and concise reports for executives and internal staff.

The Capital Project Dashboard can be used by public works executives to monitor the status of active capital projects in a community. Relevant metrics can be viewed at a glance or individual projects can be examined in more detail if time permits.

Total project cost can be reviewed for all active projects. Select an asset type, construction phase, or fiscal year and review the total number of projects in an active project portfolio. Select a project from the list and review project details along with the location of the active project.

When you deploy the  Participatory Budgeting ,  Capital Project Planning , and  Capital Project Tracking  solutions in your ArcGIS organization, you will get a collection of maps and apps that can be used by public works and utilities staff to define capital projects, coordinate project schedules, track project performance, and share project status with key stakeholders. It will also include apps and websites that enable two-way communication with the community regarding how public funds should be spent in the community, and sharing real-time information with key stakeholders. This data-driven approach will help organizations respond to changing project conditions, maintain financial accountability, and grow public confidence. 

ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government help government agencies improve operations and enhance services provided to the public. Visit the  ArcGIS Solutions website  for more information.